Wisconsin Survives Early Charge, Dominate Nebraska

Russell Wilson throws on the run against conference newcomer, Nebraska. (AP Photo/Andy Manis)

For Nebraska, it was their first chance to make a statement. They were matched against a talented Wisconsin team in a hostile environment. Coming out of the gates they looked like a team that could finally give the Badgers some trouble but Wisconsin responded to adversity, walking away with this one 48-17. Much could be made to this point about the level of competition Wisconsin has faced, beating their previous four foes by a combined score of 194-34.

In Nebraska's first game in the Big Ten they also provided the Badgers with their first deficit of the season when Taylor Martinez ran it in from 1 yard out to open the scoring, then again early on in the second quarter when Rex Burkhead punched it in to put the Huskers up a score early in the second. It was all Wisconsin from there.

The Badgers rattled off 34 consecutive points before Brett Maher tacked on a vanity field goal for Nebraska early in the fourth. However, on a day where every thing was going right for the Badgers, Montee Ball answered with his 4 touch down from 15 yards out to tie a career mark for most scores in a game.

While Ball did the heavy lifting, the star of the game was once again Russell Wilson. The NC State transfer threw for 255 yards and two scored of 36 and 46 yards. Wilson also added a score on the ground, once again proving himself as a dynamic running threat from behind center. When asked about Wilson's performance to this point in the season, coach Bret Bielema stated "If there's a better player in college football right now, I'd like to see it,"  He makes a compelling case for his quarter back who has thrown for 1391 yards and 13 touch downs against only 1 interception thus far in the year.

Wilson's fleet footed counter part did not fair so well. After showing promise in the first two drives which resulted in touch downs, Martinez finished the game completing only half of his passes and threw 3 interceptions against a stingy defense that still has not allowed more than 17 points on the season and an average of just over 10 points per game.

If Nebraska takes care of business in their half of the Big Ten, they could meet Wisconsin again in the conference championship game with redemption on their mind. They have a tough road to go however still having to face traditional conference powers Ohio State and must go on the road to the big house and their own multi-tooled quarter back Denard Robinson. For Wisconsin, they have a bye week leading up to a showdown with Indiana, closer to the end of the year, their stiffest challenge on paper would be Illinois, on the road. To this point, Wisconsin appears to be the class of the conference and the road to the Big Ten title goes through Madison. It will be interesting to see if they can maintain their level of play.